


Secret Summer Furores

by firewolfsg



Series: Journey of Light (光) [16]
Category: Saiunkoku Monogatari
Genre: M/M, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-03
Updated: 2010-04-03
Packaged: 2017-10-08 16:12:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/77445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firewolfsg/pseuds/firewolfsg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryuuki's thoughts of a bit of summer fun take a dark turn when he sees the unwanted attention his friend attracts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Secret Summer Furores

"SHIRO!" The exasperated yell of the Prime Minister's Aide fairly reverberated across the palace grounds.

Ryuuki bit down a chuckle as he leaned out his window to gaze upon what had recently become a fairly common scene at the court since the hot summer months began; Kouyuu glaring at his mud encrusted and no longer pristine white wolf who sat panting in the shallow waters of the emperor's koi pond.

The guard wolf which Kou Reishin gave his son was normally the very picture of obedience. However, Shiro was still a puppy and her youth sometimes won out over her training. This was most evident ever since the stifling heat of summer started to overwhelm them.

If Kouyuu was acting true to form, he'd be fully engaged in giving his wolf a bath to restore her fur to its usual snow white lustre for the next hour or so. Honestly, Ryuuki thought Kouyuu should have caught on by now that Shiro loved being fussed over by her master, and that these baths were more treats and rewards than a punishment. It was a no wonder she never listened to his scolding and took every opportunity to jump into a muddy pond whenever she felt he hadn't paid her enough attention lately.

Ryuuki thought nothing more of the matter and returned to his office, ostensibly to tackle his paperwork again, but more likely to take the opportunity to goof off by penning yet another unsent love letter to Shuurei. He was all ready to start thinking of a new bit of prose for Shuurei when Jyuusan hime came hurrying into his office with a worried frown on her face.

"Ryuuki, I need you to follow me." Taking in her serious expression, and since he did like any excuse to avoid work when he could, Ryuuki nodded to her.

He habitually reached for his sword, but she stopped him from picking it up. "It's only a short way from here and within the grounds of the harem. It'll be sufficient that I'm carrying a blade." Ryuuki gave her a curious look but shrugged and followed anyway, wondering what she was up to.

"You do know that Kouyuu has been using one of the harem's bathing pools to bathe Shiro, right?"

Ryuuki nodded. "If it's objectionable--"

"Oh, no, no, no. The maids and I enjoy their company." Ryuuki thought she sounded a wee bit too innocent and raised an eyebrow at her.

She smiled impishly at him. "We had him use the South eastern waterfall pools." He caught on immediately.

With her nose inundated with the smell of soap and water, and a small waterfall filling her ears with sound, Shiro would be arguably blind to her surroundings. It created a perfect opportunity for the harem to sneak closer to spy on the pair.

"I suppose the kawai-factor of watching Kouyuu with his wolf pup prompted that pool's designation?" Ryuuki smiled at Jyuusan hime conspiratorially. "It does have a lovely little 'viewing gallery which *you're* not supposed to know about."

"The ever stuffy Prime Minister's Aide lets down his guard when he thinks he's alone with his wolf. And you can't say that Shiro's not totally adorable when she's actually acting like a puppy instead of his guard wolf." Jyuusan hime told him haughtily. "Besides, she does love playing with water."

Ryuuki winced to be thus reminded of the spring 'incidents', which ended not too long ago. When the spring rains were upon them, the court was often treated to the spectacle of a half grown wolf gambolling out in the rain and pouncing into every puddle she could find. However, Shiro playing in the rain wasn't objectionable. It was after she finished playing that the trouble arose; when she came back in and shook the water off, drenching any poor unfortunates who happened to be nearby.

Ryuuki often wondered if it was deliberate that these poor sods were usually the hopeful father in laws who haunted every opportunity to get near Kouyuu whenever Shiro wasn't around. It seemed to him rather calculated that the wolf pup always returned to Kouyuu in time to shake the water off on these sycophants, and yet missed catching her master, the Prime Minister, or their guards in the deluge.

Come to think of it... Ryuuki could remember Kouyuu complaining to him once that Seiran and Shuuei indulged his guard wolf too much by *sending* her off to play in the rain. It occurred to Ryuuki then that it seemed like Seiran's wicked kind of humour to teach Shiro this naughty trick, which was akin to Shuuei's teaching Shiro that 'marriage proposal' was one of her command words to attack and chase.

Jyuusan hime's next words pulled Ryuuki out of his contemplation of further conspiracies. "And as the weather got hotter, we also had the opportunity to appreciate some-- other sights."

There was a decidedly wicked gleam in her eye with that statement. And for a moment, Ryuuki was reminded of her half brother Shuuei when he would be mischievously plotting some prank to be played on the annoying courtiers who persistently tried to ambush Kouyuu with their marriage proposals.

Ryuuki sighed as he thought of the sad situation between his twin flowers. Really, Ryuuki thought Shuuei would be much more effective in curbing the harassment on Kouyuu if he'd just work up the courage to directly address and fix the rift between him and Kouyuu. Then they could 'properly' start on the path of falling in love. While the Prime Minister's guards and Shiro normally ensured Kouyuu's many admirers and prospective father in laws kept their distance, Ryuuki also knew they wouldn't have to stay on guard so much once Kouyuu was officially 'off the market.'

Ryuuki noticed immediately when Jyuusan hime suddenly started walking more carefully and quietly. "Why *are* you taking me along to sneak up on Kouyuu?" He had to ask curiously.

"You'll know soon." She whispered back to him as she guided their Kingdom's Emperor towards the South Eastern pool's little known 'viewing gallery'. Any words Ryuuki might have thought to say was instantly forgotten as his breath was stolen by the vision Jyuusan hime pointed out to him.

In all the time he had known Kouyuu, Ryuuki had never before seen him stripped down to just his undershorts. But there he was in all his pale almost luminescent glory, fully occupied in soaping and scrubbing Shiro who was enjoying the attention of her master, and completely oblivious of any prying eyes.

For a man who spent most of his life in a library or sitting behind a desk, Kouyuu had a remarkably *fine* body. Of course, some of the man's recent development in musculature could probably be attributed to Ensei's lessons in barehanded defence.

Ryuuki had to swallow hard as he stared, mesmerised by the play of sunlight upon the sheen of water glistening on Kouyuu's skin, accentuated by the occasional bubble floating around the oblivious pair. Then there was the tiny wisp of white cloth hanging precariously on his hips which seemed to turn more translucent the wetter it got. If he was not already very much in love with Kou Shuurei, Ryuuki knew he would have been very tempted.

"Ryuuki!" A hard jab of an elbow in his side reminded him of his companion. "I know it's an-- excellent sight. And the palace maids and I have been enjoying this scene for the last couple of weeks. But I didn't bring you here to ogle too!"

"Wha-?" Ryuuki looked up at Jyuusan hime only to freeze when he noticed the darker shadows hiding among the trees she was grimly staring at. Shadows and shapes which did not look feminine, and which were much closer to their oblivious friend than they were.

"Those shadows started to appear these last few times."

All at once, Ryuuki felt his face heat up in anger and protectiveness for his innocent friend. His hand fell immediately to his hip, but he wasn't carrying Bakuya. Now he understood why Jyuusan hime made him leave his sword behind.

A low growl rumbled from his chest. "I'll get Shuuei--"

"No!" Jyuusan hime interrupted him harshly. "Not now. Aniue isn't ready to see him. Not like this right now."

Ryuuki's eyes widened at her implication, but now that he thought of it, he knew she was right. Shuuei and Kouyuu's friendship was still on shaky ground and struggling to recover from the shock it received when Shuuei stole away from Kiyou without a word to his best friend. Their relationship was currently too fragile for Shuuei to see Kouyuu in this 'light.'

"Then I'll get Seira--"

Jyuusan hime glared at him in disbelief. "You do realize he would draw Kanshou on them, don't you?"

Ryuuki's face went pale as visions of beheaded courtiers and noble men swam in his head at the thought. Seiran could get awfully ruthless when his protective instincts were aroused.

"Ensei it is." Ryuuki laughed weakly

As Ryuuki had expected, Ensei reacted much in the same way when he saw how Kouyuu dressed (or should that be undressed) while bathing his guard wolf. Ensei though, was much quicker in striding stiffly towards the shadows with his staff drawn, effectively causing a mini-stampede of these opportunistic admirers fleeing the scene. While Shiro had spared a glance at the scowling Ensei who was now skulking around the surrounding trees, Kouyuu fortunately remained blissfully unaware of the drama around him.

Thereafter, unknown to the Prime Minister's Aide and most importantly Shuuei and Seiran, Ryuuki would see Ensei unobtrusively following Kouyuu to the Harem grounds whenever he headed there to give Shiro a bath. Still, the summer couldn't end fast enough for Ryuuki's peace of mind.

~owari~

  


Thanks for reading.

  


Cheers, firewolf


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